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tv   Anderson Cooper 360  CNN  February 15, 2013 1:00am-2:00am PST

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forth. >> i bet. back on solid ground, passengers finally leave the crippled cruise ship, but this voyage home is not over yet for most. an international sports icon accused of murder. and new this morning, explosions in the sky, injuries reported after a meteor blows up just before hitting the earth. that's right. >> that's very scary. >> good friday morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. john berman will co-host "starting point this morning." >> i'm zoraida sambolin, friday, february 15th. we're on earlier this morning. it's 4:00 a.m. in the east. up first, the return of the triumph. the cruise from hell is finally over. thousands of passengers who spent five days stranded at sea and slogging through sewage and now sleeping in warm beds, we understand, or on buses, trains, and planes heading home.
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carnival's crippled cruise liner docked last night in mobile, alabama. listen to those cheering crowds. passengers began streaming off an hour later. some were angry, others taking it in stride. all of them relieved to be back to shore. >> we are glad to be on dry land. it just has been a horrible experience for us. it was a great cruise to start off with, but it just, you know, the morning of -- >> sunday morning at 5:30, there was a fire alarm and, oh. >> and we have been kept in the dark a lot, and we have not been told everything that we should have. and it is, you know -- the things that just kept getting worse and worse and we could never ever really get a straight answer, and the bathroom facilities were horrible and we could not flush toilets and no electricity, and our rooms were in total darkness and we had no air. >> horrible. horrible.
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>> and it was just has been a really taxing experience for us. >> very taxing experience. honestly i don't think this ship should have sailed out. there's issues with it. it probably should have stayed in dock. >> make no mistake, most passengers say the ordeal was awful, but most say it could have been worse if not for the carnival crew. >> what we were in awe of, the entire time was the crew that was completely unselfish. they served us with smiles, and served us in ways that are truly unthinkable, the things they had to do for us, yet they did it with smiles. we built relationships with the crew, we came home intending to keep up the relationships. they did not have to serve us to the capacity they did. they chose to make the most of it, and that encouraged all of us to make the most of it. >> you kept hearing that story over and over again. the crew truly heroes here. let's go to david mattingly live
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in mobile, alabama. officials said it would take about five hours to get everybody off of that boat. is everybody off at this hour? >> well, let's just say this is probably the only part of this entire voyage that went exactly as planned. before the ship even got here, they were saying it would take four, five hours to get everybody off the ship. we received a tweet message from carnival, a little over an hour ago, they said they accomplished that goal on the same sort of schedule they gave us before. those people came streaming off last night. we watched them come down the gangplank. they seemed to be moving fairly steadily and almost faster than the ship itself was moving as it came into port. a lot of smiles yesterday. finally something working right on this voyage. >> that's good news. we've been hearing for days about the filthy conditions that the passengers had to suffer on board. now we have some images inside
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the ship. can you walk us through those, david? >> images and some video in some cases. everything we were seeing was confirming what passengers were telling us. we were seeing carpets out in the hallways that were coated with urine after the ship turned. bags of waste placed out in the hallway. people sleeping on mattresses outside in the hallways as well, trying to get away from the smell inside their car bin. about the only thing that changed as people were coming off that boat was the attitude. gone was the stress. gone was the alarm that we heard in their voices earlier in the week. instead they were all smiles. so relieved to be away from that mess they were living with. >> it seemed like it depended on what side of the boat you were how bad the conditions were. we heard it was tilting in one
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direction. one woman a little while ago said this ship should have never sailed what are the carnival cruise company saying? are they facing questions about how the fire started? do they have any answers? one would imagine they would be facing some lawsuits this morning. >> well, certainly the idea of lawsuits is one that's been speculated before this ship got to shore, and it will continue to be. right now the message we hear from carnival is a contrite one. they have been directly on message since this disaster began. in fact, t ceo spreading that message and a direct apology to the people on board that ship an talking to the cameras last night we peting that once again. let's hear what he had to say. >> i know the conditions on board were very poor. i know it was very difficult. and i want to apologize again for subjecting our guests to that. we pride ourselves in providing our guests with a great vacation experience. and clearly, we failed in this particular case.
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>> something that may be playing in carnival's favor here, we heard so many stories from people coming off the ship about what a wonderful job that the crew on board had been doing for them. the 1,000-plus member crew living in the same conditions, but also working very hard to make sure the customers were as comfortable as they could possibly be. almost every single person coming off that boat having stories to tell, huge praise for the staff on board. >> isn't that great? let's hope the management rewards that as well. david mattingly live in mobile, alabama, thank you. >> i would say about 1,000 bonuses are due now. we have been talking about what the passenger also get from carnival, let see what the crew gets. >> no doubt. >> it was the dream vacation that turned out to be the worst nightmare. more than 4,000 people on board
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a cruise ship facing ghastly conditions. it all started sunday when that fire damaged the engine. >> we were on the first floor when it initially happened. it kind of smelled, funky smell, through the air systems they have in there. so i kind of lowered the thermostat, and this was about 3:40 in the morning. >> this is the first indication of the fire or there's a problem. >> this was the smell. and we were on the first floor, like i said. so next thing you know, i went and laid back down. next thing you know, you hear running. running through the hallways. and i open the door to see what's going on. it was the firefighters. and then i looked and saw smoke. i was like, oh, my god. so they were just telling us, everybody get out. you need to get out. so we started heading up the stairs. and once we got to like level four, they said everything has been contained.
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you all go back to your cabins. >> all morning we will will be hearing from passengers. eight minutes past the hour, south african owe limp pan oscar pistorius, one of the heroes of the 2012 games in london in court for a bail hearing after being charged with killing his girlfriend, model reeva steenkamp. authorities say the 26-year-old pistorius shot steenkamp four times early thursday morning at his home. pistorius a double amputee make olympic history when he computed in the summer games on his carbon fiber blade legs. what is the very latest on this investigation? >> at this moment, oscar pistorius is making his way to the courthouse. this will be the first moment
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that he will officially face the charge of murder. it's such a far cry of how he was viewed in this country and around the world a few days ago. his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp this was the hollywood version of a power couple. as the hours move on and as details emerge, the scenario what took place in his home on valentine's day is appearing to be much more disturbing. oscar pistorius covers himself with a coat as he makes his way to the magistrate's court in south africa where he faces a charge of murder. this comes after he spent valentine's day being questioned by police, subjected to standard blood tests and after a night spent in jail. it's an incredible fall from grace from grace for the man dubbed the blade runner. oscar pistorius could overcome incredible odds to become the
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first double-leg amputee to compete in the owe almost picks. he was a stand-out star of the london games last year. nike signed him to endorse their products as did oakley and british telecom. the world seeing this 26-year-old as a stellar example of perseverance. but now all of that is in question. in the early morning hours on valentine's day, police responded to call from pistorius's neighbors that multiple shots were fired in his mansion. his new girlfriend, cover model and aspiring reality tv star reeva steenkamp was found dead at the scene sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. pistorius is the prime suspect. the blade runner's billboards are being removed around johannesburg. the murder charge so severe that the state is opposing bail as investigators and an entire nation wonder who this man really is.
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and at this moment we have a correspondent inside the courtroom. we are told there are supporters of pistorius there including family members. it is jam-packed. the proceedings will get underway any moment. as soon as that takes place we'll bring you details. >> we are looking forward to that. this man is admired around the world. in south africa he is considered a national hero. what has reaction been to his arrest? >> absolute shock. but because he is such a sports icon, you can think of tiger woods and lance armstrong. sometimes people don't look closer or think they know the man behind the fame. what's emerged from police is there's been multiple calls of a domestic nature at his home. he was arrested in 2009 for assault, that case was dropped for lack of evidence. now there are many question marks inside south africa. could, possibly, oscar pistorius, the blade runner, icon of the nation, be an individual with some sort of
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character flaw? how possibly could he explain the shooting death of his girlfriend in his home? those are the questions investigators will focus on. many people in south africa, the billboards are coming down, they are wondering if he's the icon they perceived him to be. >> i'm sure we'll find out a lot more. errol barnett, thank you very much. a developing story overnight. a possible meteor shower shaking up residents in russia. residents reported hearing and feeling this powerful blast followed by bright burning objects falling from the sky. >> wow. this happened earlier this morning. we're told buildings shook. car alarms went off. cell phone service was interrupted. russian officials tell us 247 people have been injured. >> my goodness. >> i think nine have been hospitalized. more than 200 injuries, most of those injuries from broken glass. >> boy, this is incredible. >> yeah. >> we'll have bill nye the science guy on later. maybe we can ask him about that cloud and what it means.
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we're about to experience an extremely close encounter with an asteroid. a 150-wide space rock known as 2012 da-14 is expected to pass within 17,200 miles of earth. that's happening this afternoon. that could be the closest near-miss by an asteroid ever. the space rock won't be visible to the naked eye. the best chance to see it with the aid of a telescope will come at 2:44 eastern time this afternoon when the asteroid passes over the indiana ocean traveling at nearly 18,000 miles an hour. over the indian ocean. crazy. police i.d. the body found in that burned out cabin in california. they i.d.'d the body as christopher dorner. questions about how the search was handled. and a snag for chuck hagel as defense secretary does he stand a chance in the senate? [ anouncer ] ihop's new griddle melts... made fresh and hot!
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[heart beating] [heartbeat continues] [heartbeat, music playing louder] ♪ i'm feeling better since you know me... ♪ announcer: this song was created with heartbeats of children in need. find out how it can help frontline health workers bring hope to millions of children at everybeatmatters.org. we have another big story developing this morning. chuck hagel, president obama's pick to run the pentagon, will be in limbo a little while longer. attempts to break a republican fiphillfilibuster failed in the.
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hagel's confirmation will have to wait until after congress returns from a ten-day recess. democrats accuse gop senators of putting politics before national security. dana bash on the setback for the obama administration. >> on this vote, the yea are 58, nays 40. the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: chuck hagel fell short of the 60 votes needed to be defense secretary. >> not a secretary in the history of defense has been filibustered. never ever. >> reporter: some say hagual e hagel -- >> we have a responsibility to
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consider the nominee. a number of the republican senators have questions. >> reporter: but democrats see it another way. that republicans are dragging their feet on hagel in order to look for more information to bring him down. let's not hide behind a filibuster. let's have the courage, vote yes or vote no. don't hide behind parliamentary tricks. >> reporter: the white house knew from day one hagel's confirmation would not be easy. controversial statements on israel, jews and gays as well as his positions on iran and iraq put him in the crosshairs of senators from both sides of the aisle. a widely panned performance at his confirmation hearing, even by democrats, did not help. >> i -- i misspoke and said i supported the president's position on containment. >> reporter: but only in the last 48 hours did it become clear that hagel did not have the votes to overcome a philly
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bu filibuster this week. mostly because a handful of senators who said they would not block hagel reversed themselves, deciding to go along with the majority of republicans. >> i think during the break it's sufficient time to get any additional questions answered, and i will vote in favor of cloture on the day we get back. i believe my colleagues would also -- enough of my colleagues would do the same. >> reporter: another vote to stop the hagel filibuster is already on the schedule a little less than two weeks from now when the senate returns from a break. a number of republican senators who vote now say they will vote yes then. if they stick to that, hagel should be confirmed as the next defense secretary after a very tough time here from his former colleagues in the senate. dana bash, cnn, capitol hill. new this morning, dental
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records have confirmed what authorities suspected. the charred human remains found tuesday in a burned mountain cabin in big bear, california, those remains have been identified as christopher dorner's, he's the rogue ex-cop that killed four people during a nine-day reign of terror. now that dorner is dead, questions about the manhunt remains. >> reporter: jim and karen reynolds did what investigators couldn't. they found christopher dorner. >> he talked about how he could see jim working on the snow every day. >> he had been watching us, saw me shoveling the snow. that was friday. >> reporter: that very afternoon, last friday -- >> hold on. >> reporter: a full-blown news conference so close to the condo dorner was in, he could watch armed with assault weapons he could have killed on national television. >> a lot of us all had the feeling that he was still in the area. there's so many vacant houses up here that he could be anywhere.
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>> reporter: san bernardino sheriff's office said it searched hundreds of empty cabins but never confirmed they were actually empty. several law enforcement agencies told cnn they offered resources to san bernardino but were told thanks but no thanks. law enforcement officials say in the hours after dorner abandoned and burned his truck, the area should have been flooded with crane, 500 to 1,000 necessary to search so many homes in an areah so many homes in an area so wide. >> i was a little bit surprised last thursday that when the sheriff's office indicated that they had maybe 125, 500 officers, given that they had such a large mountainous area. >> chief of riverside police, detectives from his department didn't arrive in big bear until monday, the day before dorner was discovered. did you offer anything on thursday? >> i don't know. i really don't recall whether -- what every conversation might have occurred between our people and san bernardino.
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>> reporter: but it wasn't until monday that you actually got boots on the ground or shoes on the ground? >> we had a couple of detectives following up, yeah. >> reporter: on monday? >> on monday. >> reporter: the san bernardino sheriff and his office have only said the area was searched and the condo in question had not been rented since february 6th. two, maybe three days before dorner moved in, he tied up the reynolds when they discovered him on tuesday, but they managed to call 911 minutes after he left. >> we're very happy to be alive and that the rest of our family is safe. >> reporter: lucky to be alive, going back to that condo. never the same. >> just get a feeling, emotion sometimes just comes over me, i look at that unit and think about going back in. >> reporter: two ordinary people caught up in a life-or-death situation. did it ever have to happen? miguel marquez, cnn, los angeles. >> it is 23 minutes past the hour. at least five students and
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teachers were taken to the hospital after a food fight at a minneapolis hospital turned into a full-on brawl. as many as 300 students were involved in the lunch rom mayhem at south high school. teachers and school security tried to stop it, but the violence continued, even after police officers arrived on the scene. crane had to use mace in order to break it up. minding your business, cruise passengers may be off the ship but there could be a pr dilemma. >> some are saying this is almost carnival's deep water horizon. thankfully no one perished in this event, but it's a pr nightmare. remember what happened to this guy, the bp ceo, tony hayward was forced out after that 2010 oil spill that took place on television. everyone watching that spill. no doubt the carnival management team is feeling the heat now last night carnival cruise ceo
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jerry cahill apologized. >> i know the conditions on board were very poor. i know it was very difficult. and i want to apologize again for subjecting our guests to that. we pride ourselves in providing our guests with a great vacation experience. and clearly, we failed in this particular case. >> in that bp drama, tony hayward was accused of being tone deaf. what's important here is the carnival cruise line management does not appear the same. back then, when hayward famously said i want my life back, carnival is trying to right things. it offered refunds, $500 cash, a flight home, credit for a future cruise. it doesn't help that the owner of carnival cruise lines was seen kicking back at a heat game. now he is part owner of that team. his net worth is $5 billion. people are saying wait a minute,
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you have people walking through sewage on your ship. and you're courtside? not cool. gerry cahill is not doing too bad either in terms of the money part of it. he got a $3.7 million pay package for carnival in 2011. these men will have serious challenges to repair carnival's reputation. wall street does not seem too concerned. it tanked on wednesday, but since then it hasn't moved much. long-term cruise loyalist also still book trips. remember after the cos"costa concordia" went aground last year? bookings didn't take a hit. for now we don't know what the fallout will be, but carnival management being closely scrutinized in how they handle this case. >> i think the crew should be getting kudos on this.
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i was listening to women who were on the cruise. somebody needed dialysis treatment. she said how do you feel? they said they got her off the ship right away, got her dialysis. >> we'll have to see what the hit is to the brand f there is one. but how management behaves publicly and how they compensate the passengers -- >> and the crew -- >> will be key to the repair of the reputation of the company. they are all off the ship and heading home, but is awaiting passengers of the cruise ship triumph. we are talking to two local motel owners as to how they are welcoming these weary travelers. upside down. >> hi. >> hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. >> you just read my mind. >> announcer: just one little piece of information and they can open bogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money and ruining your reputation. that's why you need lifelock to relentlessly protect
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we are glad to be on dry land. our -- it's just been a horrible experience for us.
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>> that nightmare cruise is over, but home is still far away for many of those weary passengers. the blade runner accused of murder. oscar pistorius facing a judge at this hour. an unbelievable story developing out of russia. hundreds of people injured when a meteor explodes in the sky. welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans in for john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 31 minutes past the hour. so home at least. more than 3,000 passengers on board that doomed carnival cruise ship triumph will be waking up on dry land. can you hear the cheers? these folks are super happy. the crippled ship limped into an alabama port thursday night with the help of tugboats and a steady stream of relieved passengers began to disembark an hour later. >> it's good to be back on solid ground. you know, just when you think about a good three-day cruise we had, it was a bad four-day camping trip. >> after being on that boat for
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that long and not knowing when or how we were getting back, it was so good to finally be back. >> you really don't realize how fortunate we are to have a flushing toilet, running clean water and water to drink. >> that's great perspective. the cruise line is compensating passengers. they admit they messed this one up. >> i would like to reiterate the apology that i made earlier, because i know that the conditions on board were very poor and it was very difficult, and i want to apologize again to subjecting the guests to that. we pride ourselves in providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case. >> let's go to david mattingly live in mobile, alabama. everyone is off the ship. what is the scene like now? >> after all that activity we saw here at this facility that was built just for that purpose
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of off-loading people from cruise ships, everything went very smoothly. so much activity last night, but right now everything very quiet. in fact, you can see the ship behind me. it's all lit up. it's white hull just shining in the lights. looking at it right now, everything so quiet, so peaceful. you would never know that anything had ever gone wrong on that ship. of course we know that's entirely not the case. we saw a lot of relieved people putting their feet on dry ground for the first time in days late last night. they were taken off to hotels here and in new orleans where they're now probably getting their first long-awaited hot shower, hot meal and a nice dry bed. so, right now what we're seeing here, the calm after the proverbial storm. >> david, we were just listening to ceo cahill, he was saying the conditions on board were
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difficult. this is the second time he apologizes. let's look at some of those conditions on board. i know you have pictures and video for us. >> that's right. every picture that we saw posted on social media sent directly to us, even the video that we are seeing coming off of that ship, confirming everything that the customers were talking about earlier in the week when they first had cell service. we could see the carpets stained with urine that were still damp from when all the sewage sloshed out of the system, when the ship was tilting to one side. we saw the bags of bodily waste that had been placed out in the hallways. we saw people lined up seemingly an endless line down the hallways sleeping on mattresses that they had pulled out there because they just couldn't sleep inside their smelly rooms anymore. about the only thing that was didn't after everybody got here was their attitude. the tone in their voice.
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gone was all that alarm that we heard on those worried phone calls earlier in the week. nothing but a lot of smiles, a lot of relief as people finally got to their destination here in mobile. >> some of them almost giddy with excitement as they were reunited with families which is nice to see. david mattingly, thank you. after all that, nothing like a hot shower and a cool pillow after five days slogging through sewage and urine-soaked carpets. most of the passengers stayed in local hotels in mobile last night. victor blackwell is in mobile. good morning, sir. >> i would imagine that first warm shower after the days these folks have been through will feel amazing. i'm here with the managers of the holiday inn and the windgate. next to me is miller williams and vera mosely. between them you have about 135
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rooms booked by carnival? >> that's correct. yeah. >> you have some passengers here, but you have mostly crew. what we heard from most of the people is -- actually everyone s that the crew was amazing. they took care of the passengers here. how difficult is that to do? >> it's extremely important and difficult because considering the stress these people have been under the last few days, i'm sure they want a warm bath, a place to lay down and good food to eat. it's extremely important. >> carnival booked these rooms for three days. they took care of these passengers. what are you doing to take care of members of the crew? >> we are doing a lot right now, all we can do. we have to doing our breakfast buffets earlier. we are all set, ready, filled with our -- we have filled all the rooms with
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additional towels, soaps, all the needs, we have additional staff on the ground if they need anything on stand-by as we are here early, too, to welcome them and make them feel better. >> there are some buses still to come. some people have arrived what have been their first reactions into walking into the hotels? >> glad do get off the ship. of course they have been in a stress situation for the last few days. we welcome them. welcome them and showing them some mobile hospitality. >> mobile is known for its hospitality. thank you both very much. i know the people on their way here and the people already in these showers and bets are very happy as well. back to you. >> all right. victor blackwell, thank you very much. it is 37 minutes past the hour. another developing story overnight. a meteor shower shaking up residents in russia's mountain region. witnesses report hearing and feeling a powerful blast. it was followed by bright
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burning objects falling from your screen. russian overwhefficials say 247e have been injured. what can you tell us about this? >> the pictures emerging from this region are dramatic, they tend to support what witnesses are saying took place in the early morning hours this morning. they say it was a bright flash in the sky, followed a few moments later by a loud explosion, then some of those dramatic white streaks. what the russian government believes happened was that it was a fairly large-sized meteor, hitting the atmosphere, partially breaking up, then showering out across a very wide region. that would explain why the injuries, the damage is being reported across a very wide area. most of the damage, we are told, is broken or shattered glass,
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windows that exploded at the time that this explosion was heard, and most of the injuries are also certainly a result of that shattered glass. the russian government is saying more than 200 people have been injured. some reports from the area put it as high as 400 or more. most of those, however, are not serious. they are mostly cuts and scratches from the glass. but a few people, we believe around nine or ten, have been sent to hospital for treatment. a very dramatic morning in this part of russia about four hours east of moscow. officials say they located a large part of the meteor that survived the earth's atmosphere in a lake in that region. >> wow. very dramatic and very scary. phil black, thank you very much. ahead on "early start," developments just moments ago in the oscar pistorius case. we learned the olympic icon broke down in court when charged with the murder of his
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girlfriend. a live report after the break. [ anouncer ] ihop is in time square to compare
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. we are welcoming our international viewers now with just in to cnn. south african olympian oscar pistorius formally charged in court just moments ago with killing his girlfriend, model reeva steenkamp. this is new video of pistorius leaving for today's court hearing. police say the 26-year-old runner shot his 30-year-old girlfriend four times early thursday morning at his home in pretoria. you're looking at him right there. he has himself covered up in the background. pistorius, a double amputee is a national hero in south africa. he made olympic history when he
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competed in the 2012 london games on his carbon fiber blades winning a silver medal. errol barnett is live in johaners johan ers johannesburg. what is the latest right now? >> reporter: this is our first glimpse at the state, the physical and emotional state of oscar pistorius since all of this news has been crossing, this tragedy that his girlfriend was shot four times in his home. it's notable that as we see him t seems as though the severity and seriousness of what's happened is hitting him all at once. you can see him there in the courtroom in pretoria in a gray suit for much of the time his head is in his hands. we have a correspondent in the courtroom giving us updates saying his body is shaking uncontrollably when the charges of murder were read to him by the judge. it said he broke down in tears. again, putting his face in his
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hands as he is surrounded in that courtroom not just by media, but by relatives, family members and friends as well. there are supporters of him in the courtroom. just for a moment, consider what he has been going through since the incident took place. he's been questioned by police for most of valentine's day. the police conducted a number of standard blood tests to see if he was eneeb yinebriated in any and he spent his first night in jail. but also another person's life has been lost, his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp died at 29 years old. she in her own right had a promising career ahead of her. a reality show she is starring in begins airing tomorrow. so, for the first time we're kind of seeing after oscar pistorius had blocked hz appearance and face for so many hours, we're seeing how emotionally rocked he is to the core. >> errol, i know these are late-breaking details, they just appeared in court, but do we
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know if her family was also in court? >> we don't know. the only statement that has been made by the steenkamp family has been made through their late daughter's management company. and understandably they want privacy during this horrific time. they are grieving. they're asking that the media respect that as we all wait now to try and understand what was exactly happening in oscar pistorius' mansion on valentine's day. there were no indications before this that the two had a rocky relationship, albeit a new one. we're waiting now to hear from oscar pistorius himself, his lawyer to see what his defense could be. >> all right. errol barnett, thank you. passengers on board the cruise ship triumph slowly making their way home. we'll speak to one woman about her ordeal after the break.
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their cruise near the coast of italy. then the giant ship hits a patch of rocks. the ship shutters, the lights go out, a gash in the hull of the ship. the passengers are told not to worr worry. >> they said everything was under control. >> reporter: but the passengers begin to panic. the situation is bad. life boats are lowered into the water. speedboats and helicopters take off to save lives. >> just swimming. there were some people really freaking out, grabbing hold of other people. everyone was trying to keep everyone calm. >> reporter: 32 people ended up dies. two of the bodies are still missing. in november 2010, the carnival splendor was on a cruise from california to the mexican riviera. there was a fire in the engine room. all power was cut off. just like the triumph, the ship had to be towed. three days later it arrived in san diego. nobody was hurt.
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march of 2010, three huge waves referred to as rogue waves, crash into a cruise ship. the ship in the mediterranean sea was on a voyage from spain to italy. windows were smashed. cabins were flooded. two people were killed. more than a dozen others were hurt. the norwegian dawn in april of 2005, on its way from the bahamas back to new york. also hit by three huge rogue waves. this is what one passenger told a loved one on their answering machine. we have been in 42-foot swells for the past 24 hours. there's damage to our ship. people have been hurt. it's been a nightmare. >> reporter: like most incidents there was much panic. >> we're talking 47-foot waves hitting the tenth floor. knocking jacuzzis on the 1th floor over. pure pandemonium. >> my wife and myself were celebrating our honeymoon. we called our loved ones we
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thought that was the end. >> reporter: nobody died but four people were hurt. four years later the same ship lost all power and had to be rescued by helicopters and other ships. of course there is the most famous of cruise ship incidents, just over a century ago, the rms titanic hit an iceberg. 1,502 people perished on a ship believed to be unsinkable. >> if you're doing pr for the cruise industry, you're like, wow, when will this be over. >> we're digging deeper here. president obama returns home to chicago today to make a pitch for gun control. he will be speaking to students at a high school not far from the first family's home. the president has been traveling the country this week fleshing out proposals from his state of the union address. tou >> new york city mayor michael bloomberg is making changes to the way the nypd handles
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marijuana arrests. those with possession of under 15 grams of pot will resolve a misdemeanor and will not have to spend the night in jail. coming up the next hour, we'll go to mobile, alabama. passengers are making their way home after that nightmare cruise. i found a powerful new way to cut out arthritis pain.
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